Astra's Mysterious Disappearance

When he reached Wilkes, he had a second unpleasant surprise. The page was dead! There were no obvious marks of violence on his body, apart from the bruises that he had received when he was thrown. But Fred did not think that the fall had caused his death. He had been breathing normally after it, and there had been no indications of any broken bones. It was possible that he had received severe internal injuries from the fall, but Fred feared that something had attacked Wilkes and Astra and was responsible for the lad's death. Why else should Astra be missing? Had she fled or had she been been abducted? If the latter, was she alive or dead? How had Wilkes been killed without leaving any marks? Asphyxiation might be a possibility, or perhaps he had been killed by some magic spell?

Fred wondered whether whoever or whatever had caused the destruction of his family home could have been responsible. But it was pointless to speculate with so little information to go on. He must concentrate on trying to find Astra before night fell.

He would start by examining the nearby undergrowth. If whatever had attacked had come through it, or if Astra had gone that way, then some of it ought to be broken down. However it might be hard to distinguish that from the damage that the bear would have caused when it came through. The other possibility seemed to be that the attacker had come down the track from the direction in which they had been headed.

1. Fred began his search.
2. Then Fred heard a distant shout. It was Astra's voice.
3. Only then did it register with Fred that the bear's corpse was gone. How could something so big have been moved? And why? He had been sure it was dead, but recalled tales of werebears that could only be killed by weapons of silver.

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